Breslin Bound: Regional Preview
March 12, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Aside from Detroit Western’s early-week upset of Class A contender East English, the first few days of this season’s District boys basketball tournaments went by mostly as expected.
And then Friday happened.
Brackets were shaken up all over the state during the District championship round – we highlight below five games in particular that popped out most – and a number of Regionals have a much different look than many might have anticipated a week ago.
See below as well for a preview of three Regionals from each Class – powered by MI Student Aid. Host sites are bolded, and matchups shown are for Regional Semifinals. (Click for brackets for every Regional in all four classes.)
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Grand Rapids South Christian 51, Wyoming Godwin Heights 46 – The Sailors won a Class B District Final against a Godwin Heights team that finished 21-2 and had won six straight District titles while making the Breslin Center twice during that time.
2. North Muskegon 37, Kent City 33 – Both were league champions, but Kent City also hadn’t lost a game and finished 21-1 after falling in this Class B District Final.
3. Flint Beecher 62, Flint Hamady 43 – These rivals shared the Genesee Area Conference Red title and Hamady had won the most recent regular-season meeting over the three-time reigning Class C champ.
4. Suttons Bay 45, Frankfort 42 – The Norsemen moved to 11-12 by eliminating a Frankfort team that shared the Northwest Conference championship and was expected to compete for a trip to East Lansing.
5. Flint Carman-Ainsworth 68, Grand Blanc 66 (OT) – The Cavaliers, winners of the Saginaw Valley League, slipped past the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall champion.
Regionals at a Glance
These could be among our most competitive brackets. Host sites are in bold:
CLASS A
Battle Creek Lakeview
Kalamazoo Central (19-2) vs. East Lansing (20-3), Coldwater (19-3) vs. Okemos (19-4)
Always in the mix, Kalamazoo Central quietly has won 15 straight and is eight points from being undefeated this season. The Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East champion gets East Lansing, which has had an unexpected last few weeks with a coaching change but still features Mr. Basketball finalist Brandon Johns. White the Kalamazoo Central/East Lansing game features two teams that have gotten much of the attention, the night’s second game features two league champions – and Okemos swept the Trojans during the regular season to win the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. Coldwater has won eight straight and claimed the Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title.
Grandville
Grand Rapids Christian (14-9) vs. Muskegon (19-3), Holland West Ottawa (21-2) vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (16-7)
Muskegon has run off 14 straight wins to reach a familiar sport for the annual contender, and avenged its earliest loss of this season by downing Grand Haven 50-41 in the District Final. The Big Reds next get reigning Class A runner-up Grand Rapids Christian, which went 3-7 during the second half of the regular season but faced a number of top teams and is capable of continuing this run. West Ottawa handed the Eagles one of their early losses and followed with an Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title – a Regional title this week would be a program first. Forest Hills Northern beat one of the teams that beat West Ottawa – East Kentwood – and will be up for the upset task tonight.
Salem
Ann Arbor Skyline (22-0) vs. Howell (14-8), Novi (14-8) vs. White Lake Lakeland (17-5)
Undefeated Skyline continued its perfect run through a competitive District and will play for its second Regional title in five seasons – but with some dangerous potential stoppers coming up. Howell emerged from a 2-6 stretch during the end of the regular season to claim a District title. Novi has been a new team since guard Trendon Hankerson returned from injury, putting together a nine-game winning streak that also include the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament title. Lakeland is another team to watch; the Eagles have won nine straight, and not counting two losses to Lakes Valley Conference champ Waterford Mott haven’t fallen to another since Jan. 16.
CLASS B
Coloma
Dowagiac (16-5) vs. Wayland (10-12), Benton Harbor (22-1) vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (19-4)
Benton Harbor, a semifinalist last season, has been among the handful of favorites expected to challenge reigning champ New Haven. The Tigers’ only loss was Feb. 3 to Class A Hazel Park, 77-70. But Unity Christian is a league champ, from the O-K Green, and has won 19 of its last 21 games. On the other side of the bracket, Wayland obviously is a surprise – but upset Wolverine Conference North champ Otsego (19-2) on the way to winning last week’s District. Dowagiac was the only other team to defeat Otsego this season, and the Wolverine Conference South co-champ surely will be eager for the challenge of avenging a 77-43 loss to Benton Harbor from opening night.
Gaylord (Semifinals at Clare/Petoskey)
Alma (18-5) vs. Standish-Sterling (13-9) at Clare, Ludington (17-6) vs. Boyne City (17-6) at Petoskey
Tonight’s Semifinal at Clare features familiar foes: Alma shared the Tri-Valley Conference Central title and beat Standish-Sterling by 11 in their first meeting before losing the second by a point. Standish-Sterling finished sixth in the league but has won nine of its last 12. At Petoskey, reigning Class B runner-up Ludington has won eight of its last nine games and claimed the Lakes 8 Conference title. Boyne City provides an intriguing next opponent for a few reasons. The Ramblers, runners-up in the Lake Michigan Conference, are in Class B this season after many successful runs in Class C and are back downstate after downing three Upper Peninsula opponents in last week’s District.
Grand Rapids West Catholic
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (20-2) vs. Spring Lake (19-4), Grand Rapids South Christian (16-7) vs. Fremont (17-6)
GRCC is another of the forecasted few expected to give New Haven a run, and the Cougars have done everything to back that up winning the O-K Blue and losing only to West Ottawa and another former Class B contender in Wyoming Godwin Heights. Two league wins came over Spring Lake, which beat GRCC in last season’s Regional championship game. The other side of the bracket features a pair of teams eager to take advantage if GRCC/Spring Lake III turns exhausting. Fremont shared the Central State Activities Association Gold championship, and South Christian has won 12 of its last 14 – beating Grand Rapids Christian along the way and then upsetting Godwin Heights in last week’s District Final.
CLASS C
Houghton Lake
McBain (19-3) vs. Maple City Glen Lake (20-2), Whittemore-Prescott (17-5) vs. Elk Rapids (13-9)
McBain opened this season 13-0 and retained a share of the Highland Conference championship. But the Ramblers most recent loss was Feb. 27, 50-37 to Glen Lake, which should make for an intense opener tonight. The Lakers shared the Northwest Conference championship, their only losses this season to reigning Class D runner-up Buckley. On the other side, Elk Rapids has won six of its last eight games and moved on after falling to Glen Lake in District games the last two seasons. Whittemore-Prescott has an opportunity to stun some unfamiliar foes after finishing second in the North Star League Big Dipper to undefeated Class D contender Hillman. The Cardinals have won 11 of their last 13.
Madison Heights Bishop Foley
Detroit Edison (12-10) vs. Detroit Pershing (12-10), Detroit Loyola (12-11) vs. Madison Heights Madison (18-4)
Records here are deceiving for three teams and even more impressive for the fourth, given the shared circumstances. All four of these teams play in leagues with nearly all larger schools. Edison and Pershing both play in the Detroit Public School League East Division 1 with two Class A and a Class B team – and Edison went on to win the overall PSL tournament championship. Madison won a Macomb Area Conference Bronze as the only league member not in Class B. Loyola is the only non-Class B in the Detroit Catholic League AA, and all of its defeats came to Class A or B opponents. Edison reached the Class C Semifinal last season despite finishing 14-12; this time the Pioneers will have to fend off a Pershing team that won their two meetings during the regular season by nine and seven.
Petersburg-Summerfield
Napoleon (15-7) vs. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (22-0), Hanover-Horton (20-2) vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills (15-4)
A pair of league champions anchor this Regional – St. Mary from the Huron League and Hanover-Horton from the Cascades Conference. The Falcons beat Tri-County Conference champion Ottawa Lake Whiteford in their District Final and are 46-1 over the last two seasons – losing last year only in the Quarterfinal. Up steps Napoleon, fourth in the Cascades this winter, after bouncing back from three losses to end the regular season with three victories last week. Hanover-Horton is riding a 16-game winning streak as it plays for its third Regional title in four seasons. But the Comets must be cautious. Greenhills repeated as a District champion last week, downing three 15-win teams to claim the title.
CLASS D
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Wyoming Potter’s House Christian (18-5) vs. Marcellus Howardsville Christian (18-5), St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic (17-6) vs. Bellevue (21-1)
Four league champions will take the court at this site. Potter’s House won the Alliance League handing regular-season and District Final losses to annual Class D contender Wyoming Tri-unity Christian. Howardsville Christian and Lake Michigan Catholic were two of three teams to share the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference White title. They split their regular-season meetings, LMC winning the first by 12 and Howardsville claiming the rematch by seven. But Bellevue is likely the favorite this week. The Broncos won the Southern Central Athletic Association West, and 19 of their wins were by 10 or more points. Their only loss was to SCAA East champ Hillsdale Academy (21-2).
Deckerville
Flint International Academy (21-2) vs. Kingston (20-3), Fulton (12-11) vs. Bay City All Saints (12-11)
This Regional provides an interesting opportunity for probably the winningest third-place team in the state. Kingston finished third in the North Central Thumb League Stars division as International Academy won the league title and beat Kingston big twice. FIA has won 16 straight. Fulton lost five of its last six to end the regular season but bounced back with three wins last week and eliminated rival Fowler (16-6) in the District Final. All Saints actually rebounded from an 0-5 start against nonleague opponents, including FIA and Kingston, to finish second in the NCTL Stripes.
Negaunee
Carney-Nadeau (15-7) vs. Ewen-Trout Creek (22-1), Rapid River (19-3) vs. Dollar Bay (23-0)
Rapid River and Carney-Nadeau might be considered favorites in other Regionals, but are stuck as just really strong underdogs hoping to shake up a possible rematch between Ewen-Trout Creek and Dollar Bay. Those two met in one of the Upper Peninsula games of the year Feb. 7, a 51-42 win for Dollar Bay at Michigan Tech. But Carney-Nadeau eliminated three-time reigning Class D champ Powers North Central 53-40 in its District Final after falling to the Jets twice during the regular season. Next up is an E-TC team that has won seven of its eight games since the Dollar Bay loss by double digits. Rapid River knocked out a league champion in Munising during its District run, and aside from a pair of losses to Class C Norway is otherwise unbeaten since Jan. 18. Dollar Bay has been more or less unstoppable. The Blue Bolts downed Ontonagon 69-46 in the District Final after squeaking out one and five-point wins over the Gladiators during the regular season. No other opponent has gotten closer than nine.
PHOTO: A Carsonville-Port Sanilac player gets his hand on a shot, but Kingston went on to win last week’s Class D District opener. (Click for more from Varsity Monthly.)
Tradition-Rich Kingston Adding to Legacy
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 31, 2018
Camryn MacGuire remembers watching Kingston varsity basketball games and dreaming about the day she could be on the court.
Evan Neff enjoyed going to games so much as a kid, he kept coming back even after his family moved away for a few years while he was in middle school.
Now both are leading the way for the Cardinals on the court as the Kingston girls and boys basketball teams are inspiring another group of youngsters in their small town.
“I know a lot of little kids come to our games and are huge fans,” said Neff, a sophomore on the boys team. “I know I’ve talked to a couple eighth graders, and they say they can’t wait to play on varsity with me their sophomore year. I think a lot of the littler kids can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Basketball is king in Kingston, and this winter, Cardinals fans have plenty to cheer about. The girls team was 12-0 heading into Wednesday night’s game against Croswell-Lexington, and ranked No. 1 in Class D by the Detroit Free Press and No. 2 by The Associated Press.
The boys started the season on a nine-game winning streak, and are 11-2.
“I think it’s the same thing wherever you’re going to: if you’re winning, if you’re putting a good product out there, you’re going to see a lot of people there,” boys coach Dave Lester said. “In our little town, it seems like everybody is there for the girls games and guys games. We’ve got a great, great student body. Our home games are electric. It’s a fun atmosphere. It’s fun to coach, and it’s gotta be fun to play.
“It’s what high school sports are all about. I think that atmosphere attracts your younger athletes to want to be a part of it. If they’re there and seeing us win, that’s contagious.”
Lester and girls coach Jay Green have been part of it for the better part of the past three decades, first as players for Kingston and now as coaches.
They played together in the late 1980s, and in Green’s senior year, he helped the boys team reach the MHSAA Quarterfinals.
Green returned to coach the girls team and win four District titles in four years – along with his brother, Dave – during the late 90s. Lester took over the girls program in 2003 and coached the team to the Quarterfinal. The Greens came back to the program in 2011, and Lester took over the boys team midway through the 2013-14 season.
“I think there’s probably a little more passion toward what you do, and what you’re trying to instill into the girls and the boys because you are an alumni,” Jay Green said. “I think both of us could say we were successful alumni in the past. And we both learned under coach Leon Westover when we played, then developed our own ideas, and we have that pride of seeing both the boys and girls doing well.”
Green credits his team’s current success, in part, to the parents in the program, who have taken the time to get their girls to the gym for years and been supportive throughout.
MacGuire agreed.
“My parents, and a bunch of the girls on my team’s parents were always pushing us, and always getting us to play as much as we could,” the point guard said. “They were always telling us that big things were coming. Our starting five is all juniors, and we’ve been playing together since the fourth grade or third grade.”
Kingston’s girls aren’t focused too much on the rankings, or the record, but more on preparing themselves for the postseason. They’ve already scored a win against Class C power Sandusky, and the game against Cros-Lex will provide a test against a strong Class B program. A game against another Class B school, Yale, was postponed because of weather this past Monday.
“I love playing bigger schools,” MacGuire said. “It gives you more competition, and you get to push yourself even more; then it’s even better if you come out with the win. It’s going to benefit us in the tournament.”
Their classmates are providing plenty of support to both teams. MacGuire said there’s been a buzz in the hallways all season, and both she and Neff said their teams make sure to cheer each other on whenever their schedules allow.
“I never really watched girls basketball until seventh or eighth grade when we moved back to Kingston,” Neff said. “I remember watching those teams, and I was really impressed. My eighth grade year, they had like four or five freshmen on varsity, and I knew they were going to be outstanding. Those girls work really hard, and they’re great athletes.”
“We try to make it to as many (boys) games as we can, even the road games,” MacGuire said. “We support each other both ways. It’s a good atmosphere.”
No Kingston team has ever been beyond the Quarterfinals, but the conference and District championships have piled up through the years. And as dedicated players keep walking into the program, it could just be a matter of time before a group of them breaks through.
“It’s just a tradition here, and our kids know it,” Lester said. “When you walk into our gym, there’s tons and tons of basketball banners. We really talk about tradition and how it would be great to continue that tradition and put up more banners.
“Obviously, we would like to make a long run. At some point, you want to win a state championship, but it’s a process. We’ve got some kids who were playing a lot of basketball, putting a lot of time into it. They want to win, and they want to be a part of that tradition.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Kingston’s Carley Smith, left, pushes the ball upcourt while junior Nathan Cloyd, right, launches a shot. (Middle) Gerilyn Carpenter looks for open teammates during a game this season. (Below) Sophomore Evan Neff works to get around a Bad Axe defender. (Photos by Spot On By Shari.)